


The Skeleton's Pet

by OblivionGrey27



Category: Underfell (Undertale AU), Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Abuse, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Major Original Character(s), Master/Pet, Physical Abuse, Reader Is Not Chara, Reader Is Not Frisk, Sexual Abuse, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-05-18
Packaged: 2018-10-19 17:38:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10644792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OblivionGrey27/pseuds/OblivionGrey27
Summary: After trying to end her life on Mount Ebott,  Cecil finds herself trapped in the underground. After navigating the ruins, Cecil finds herself alone in the cold and captured by a skeleton, made his pet.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cecil climbs Mount Ebott in an attempt to end her own life.

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I ran. My heavy footsteps echoed in my ears, as fallen leaves from last autumn and spare twigs crunched underfoot. Stray branches seemed to grab at me, scratching my skin as I forced my way through them. I grit my teeth as one particularly determined thorn bush hooked into my arm, eliciting a quiet whimper as I tugged against the thorn that pierced my flesh. Finally, I freed myself, blood dripping from the wound in my arm. More tears overflowed from my eyes, but I looked up at the tall mountain. Mount Ebott, my destination. Gripping my wound to slow the blood flow, I began to stagger towards the mountain top once again. I wouldn’t die here, where they could find my body, where they could try and ‘save’ me.

As I climbed to the top, the sun began to rise in the horizon, which only made me hurry up. If they woke up...I shook my head furiously, letting go of my arm and grabbing hold of a protruding rock. Finally, the steep side of the mountain began to flatten out, and I weakly heaved myself over the last rocks, rolling onto the flatter ground. My vision blurred and I struggled to focus. After a moment, however, my vision cleared and I pushed myself up. I stumbled weakly, almost falling back down the mountain, but managed to steady myself. Taking a deep breath that would be one of my last, I stepped towards the middle of the mountaintop. It wasn’t so much a mountain, as it was a dormant volcano. Looking down into the opening, I gulped. I couldn’t see the bottom, and sharp, jagged rocks lined the walls leading down. A few tears fell from my cheek, glinting in the sunlight before falling out of sight.

Taking a deep breath, I shook my head, taking a few steps back. “Goodbye...” I whispered to nobody, before running the few steps to the edge of the opening and pushing myself forward. More tears streamed from my eyes, as wind pushed back against me and I plummeted to my doom. My body went limp and I closed my eyes to the dim morning light. I closed my eyes to this miserable world.

When my body hit something hard, I let out a light cry as my body smashed against what I could only assume to be hard rocks. My body rolled, and at some point my head crashed against the hard surfaces, and the world went black.

My entire body ached, and I felt the familiar sensation of bruises forming all over me, with warm, sticky liquid streaked across me. The worst pain came from my head, though, and it felt as though my skull had split open, my hair stuck to the side of my head with a thick fluid. My eyes fluttered open, though the energy it took just to do that sent more pain through me. After a while, my vision cleared a bit, though not completely, and every movement left objects in a weird blur like a moving camera. Blinking a few times, trying to clear my vision, I finally got a grasp on my surroundings. I lie on a small bed of wilted flowers, surrounded by gray-brown dirt. The walls of...wherever I was...appeared to be gray stone, covered in climbing vines and ivy. Against the walls were a couple broken columns, wrapped in the vines, and reaching towards the sky. Looking up, I saw a circle of light streaming in from a while up, and I had to squint my eyes against it.

Gulping, I slowly pushed myself to my feet. Stumbling slightly, I leaned against a nearby column, my blood-stained hand leaving my handprint on the white material. Leaning back against the column, I examined myself with shaking hands. I was covered in new cuts, slowly scabbing over but still bleeding nonetheless. Bruises were forming over my body, leaving me sore all over. The worst, perhaps, was when I reached up and touched the side of my head. The slight amount of pressure made me wince violently, and the blood was still coming, a mix of bright red and drying black liquid covering my fingers.

With shaking hands, I grabbed hold of the hem of my sweater and ripped the fabric, forming a long strip. Wrapping the fabric around my head, I felt new tears at the pressure, but tied on the makeshift bandage regardless. With the new bandage tied securely around my wound, I tried to take a step away from the column only to quickly stumble and fall forward, a new onslaught of tears forming in my eyes. Blinking away the tears, I looked around for something to support myself, when my eyes landed on a long, thick stick. Slowly, I made my way over to the stick and picked it up. Forcing myself to my feet, I leaned against the stick, supporting myself completely against it. Taking a few breaths, I wiped my tears from my eyes before moving forward. Making my way towards a grand archway, I looked back up at the circle of light, before stepping into a new room.

The new room was shrouded in shadows, save a small circle of light in the center of the room, shining on a small yellow flower. While its petals were torn and drooped, it wasn’t wilted like the bed I’d landed on. Knitting my eyebrows, I stumbled towards the flower weakly.

When I stepped into the light, the flower whipped around, revealing a teary-eyed face. I knit my eyebrows, by now ignoring the pain these small motions made, and leaned against the stick. The flower grit its teeth and looked away from me. “Please...just kill me.” It whispered.

I raised an eyebrow, slowly lowering myself to the ground against the stick. “W-what...?” I whispered. “Where...where am...I? Am I...d-dead?”

The flower looked up at me with an annoyed look. “You don’t have to play dumb. Just kill me...I can’t stay in this world any longer.”

Confusion washing over me, I reached up and massaged my forehead, trying to wrap my mind around this. “I...don’t know...what’s going on...” I whispered, grinding my knuckles into my forehead. “Why...do you want me to...kill you?”

The flower looked up at me, astonishedly. “You...really don’t know where you are?”

I shook my head slowly. “I...jumped off of Mount Ebott...and...now I’m here...I was trying to die, but...” I grit my teeth. “Why...am I...still here?”

The flower’s face seemed to fall, and it shifted. “You jumped?” I nodded slowly. “Well, you’ll die soon enough down here...” It whispered, shaking its head. I raised an eyebrow. He let out a light sigh. “I’m...Flowey. Flowey the flower. This is...the underground, home of the monsters. Where the world motto is ‘kill or be killed’.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Then...why haven’t you killed me?”

It shook its head. “I don’t want to kill...I don’t want to live in this miserable world, so...I’ve decided to  _ be _ killed instead.”

I shook my head. “Well I won’t kill you. Sorry...” I whispered, eyes falling to the ground.

Flowey looked up at me. “Why not? Humans are...such violent creatures...”

I shrugged. “I don’t want to kill people.” There was no other way to explain it. Flowey slouched over, looking distraught. “H-how can I get out of here?” I asked.

Flowey looked up at me. “It’s dangerous ahead...even if you wanted to die...what you’ll go through...” It shivered. “There’s a reason I wait for a human to kill me...”

My shoulders fell. “Well...can you help me...then?”

It looked up at me, eyes wide. “W-what? Go  _ into _ the ruins? Are you insane?”

I shrugged weakly. “It’s better than sitting here, waiting for another human to come kill us both.” Flowey opened its mouth to protest, but no words came out. “You don’t have to...” I whispered.

Flowey’s eyes fell to the floor, before looking up at me. “I’ll...help you. Go to the next room. I’ll meet you there.”

This confused me, but I nodded slowly, pushing myself to my feet. Large green vines came out of the ground and helped me up, before Flowey seemed to melt into the ground. Slowly, leaning against the stick, I made my way through another ornate archway, my thoughts spinning, as I wondered what I’d gotten myself into.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flowey helps Cecil navigate the Ruins.

Beyond the second archway was a small, decrepit hallway with a worn path in the dirt floor, leading to a strange square of dead leaves. Flowey met me just inside the room, looking at me with concern. “Are you alright?” It asked, scrunching its face in confusion and concern.

    I raised an eyebrow. “I fell down a mountain.” I said frankly, adjusting my grip on the stick. “So...not really.”

    Flowey’s face was overcome with realization, before nodding its head. “I...I see. Here, let me heal you. We’ll never get anywhere if it takes you twenty minutes to get through a room.” Several green dots formed around its head and flew towards me. Before I had time to respond, they hit me in several spots, quickly melting into my skin. Everywhere they hit, I was greeted with sweet relief, a strange feeling. Cuts quickly scabbed over and turned to scars, bruises receded into my skin, and, strangely enough, even the drying blood on me seemed to disappear. “Better?”

    I had wide eyes. Looking over myself, I saw all my cuts had turned to faint scars, all my bruises were gone, and previous scars seemed nonexistent. Turning to Flowey, it looked at me expectantly. My body relaxed slightly as I slowly let go of the stick. When I could stay standing, I felt my lips twitch upwards into a faint smile. “Yeah. Thanks, Flowey.”

    Flowey’s eyes widened, as if it’d never heard this before. I raised an eyebrow slightly, but it shook its head quickly. “Don’t mention it.” With that, it melted into the ground and reappeared at the end of the room, on top of a small stone landing with two staircases leading up to it on either side. Between the stairs was a wall of ivy covered in dull red leaves, and in front of it was a small...star? Knitting my eyebrows, I stepped towards the star, touching it hesitantly. Flowey looked down at me with a look of confusion. “What are you doing?” It asked, knitting its own pseudo-eyebrows.

    Looking up, my eyes widened slightly, before I shook my head. “N-nothing...sorry...” I whispered, quickly running up the stairs. It looked up at me with a disbelieving look, but shook its head, before quickly melting into the ground.

    Shaking my head, I went through another door, to find myself in a strange room. The path was blocked by a large stone door with no handle. To the left of the door was a large crack in the wall, and to the right of the path were six buttons and a lever, a faint dirt path running through the middle two. Flowey gulped. “These traps...the Underground is full of ‘em. There used to be hints, but now...” It gulped, shaking its head. “Whatever. That’s what I’m here for, right?” I raised an eyebrow, but nodded slowly. “This one is pretty easy. Just step on the buttons on the far left and right, then hit the lever. Doesn’t even kill you for messing up!” It chuckled weakly, with no humor in its laugh.

    I nodded quickly and stepped over the four buttons. Flowey nodded as I grabbed hold of the lever and pulled it down. A loud groaning told me I was successful. “Good job, er...” It tilted its head to the side, torn petals swaying slightly. “H-hey, what’s your name?”

    My eyes widened slightly, before I realized it didn’t know. Gulping, my eyes fell to the ground. “Uh, Cecil...”

    Flowey nodded curtly. “Good job Cecil. Let’s keep going.” It quickly melted into the ground again, and I followed it through the door, not questioning how it kept doing that, especially on stone.

    The next room greeted me with the sound of rushing water. “This one’s pretty easy too. Just pull the levers on the paths.” It explained, and I nodded, following the path over a bridge. The next bridge was blocked off by spikes half my height. While they wouldn’t kill me if I touched them, it definitely made it hard to get past. The path turned to the left, leading to a lever like in the last room. Pulling it elicited a quick grinding noise, and looking back revealed the spiked were gone, the ground where they stood instead covered in small stone circles. Looking over the circles, I hesitantly stepped past, relieved when they didn’t pop back up. Again, the door leaving was blocked by spikes, but I followed the path, which took me to the right of two levers. Before I could pull it, however, thick vines grew around it, jamming it in its up position. “Damn it...” I jumped back as Flowey appeared next to me, glaring at the levers. “She must have messed with the path...Pull the other lever. This one will kill you.” It explained.

    Knitting my eyebrows in questioning, I however followed its instructions and pulled the other lever, only to be met with the familiar grinding as old traps moved out of the way. Turning to the path, I stepped into the next room as Flowey melted into the ground as well. In the room was a large training dummy, several gashes in its fabric revealing old stuffing. Flowey, however, quickly melted into the ground again, and I followed to the next room. A faded, swerving path filled the otherwise empty room, and I quickly left through an opening to the right. I could see Flowey at the end of the small corridor, but before I could make my way to him, my body froze. Suddenly, I was no longer in the corridor, but in a large black room with only a large frog creature. It had cold eyes and a face in the shadow of its body. My eyes widened as I fell back. Raising my hands in front of me, I struggled to get out my words. “I-I don’t want to...”

    Before I could get the words out, large white flies surrounded the creature, quickly flying after me. Gulping, I braced myself for the attack, hoping it would at least kill me quickly, but nothing hit me. Opening my eyes slightly, I saw the creature was wrapped in vines, struggling, and attacking the vines with the white flies. In between me and the creature was Flowey, facing away from me. After a moment, the black room faded away, revealing the corridor. Flowey looked at me with worry, and I gulped, looking away from it, and slowly making my way towards it.

    Flowey stood in front of a large, mostly empty room with a spike-covered bridge above a large reservoir of water, leading to a small platform on the other side of the room. “Are you okay?” It asked. I nodded slowly. “Look, I get that you don’t want to kill anything, but you have to defend yourself! You may not care, but _I_ don’t want you to die!”

    My eyes fell to the ground, and we stood in silence for a moment. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, it broke the silence. “This puzzle is...dangerous. One false move and you’ll be killed. So you’ll have to do exactly as I say.” I nodded slowly. “Okay, you have to take a few steps forward. Walk slowly, and stop when I say so, okay?” I raised an eyebrow, looking down at the flower. It shook its head. “The spikes on the path aren’t real. It’s...weird, but they won’t hurt you as long as you do as I say.” I nodded slowly and hesitantly stepped forward. When my foot hit the spikes, they quickly vanished, startling me. Flowey, however, nodded. “It’s alright. Just keep going.”

    Slowly, I took a few steps forward. Suddenly, Flowey cried out, “Stop!” My body froze, rigid. Letting out a gulp, I looked back at it with wide eyes. Flowey had a similarly concerned face, but it let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, now turn to the left and walk to the edge.” It explained.

    Turning, I walked to the edge and looked down into the water. It reflected my face, and while I was no longer cut up and bruised, I was far from looking healthy. My hair was still matted to my head with dried black blood that Flowey’s healing hadn’t cleaned, my eyes were dull and rimmed in red, with bags under them, and the makeshift bandage wrapped around my head was tangled in my hair, the already bright red fabric clearly stained with the darker red, almost black, soaked in blood. I let out a gulp and turned back to Flowey. “Okay, now turn right and walk towards the door. Stop when I say so.”

    I did as I was told, taking a half-step at a time so I didn’t impale myself. After a few steps, Flowey said to stop, and walk back to the right of the platform, before turning and walking towards the door again. When it said stop again, it had appeared on the wooden dock at the end of the spikes. Finally, it told me to move to the left edge again and walk to the dock. So I did, and it nodded happily. “Good job. The next room is easy. You just walk through. No traps or anything!” It chuckled weakly, before melting into the ground.

    I raised an eyebrow at the now nonexistent flower, but shook my head, stepping into the next room. It was a long hallway, a dirt path leading straight ahead and the walls only covered in the ivy that infested this place. It’d look pretty, if the place wasn’t so decrepit, and everything wasn’t so dead. Looking back, I saw the spikes. They’d be an easy way to die...Just step off the path, and I’d be dead. But Flowey’s petaled face popped into mind, and I quickly shook the thoughts away. It...wanted me alive. For whatever reason, it wanted me alive, and it was helping me. Nodding at nobody, I turned and walked down the empty hallway.

    The corridor was completely empty until the very end. When the end of the room came into view, though, there was a broken white pillar against the left wall, with large chips and cracks in the material, and half of it lying on the floor next to the base. As I got closer to the arch, however, I saw a large shadow in it. A few more steps, and the shadow formed into a figure. The figure was...disturbing. Stopping in my tracks, I met the eyes of the figure. It was a tall, feminine creature, wearing a torn purple robe with a strange symbol and white sleeves. The creature was covered in white fur, with long, hairlike ears falling over its shoulders and small white horns at the top of its head. It’s eyes, though...They were wide, the whites being a sickly yellow with small red irises, and dark bags under them. It also wore a twisted smile, revealing sharp, yellowing fangs.

    “Hello, my child.” It said, with a raspy, calming woman’s voice. “I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins. You must be very confused...”

    I gulped, taking a step back. She took a step forward, extending her arms. “Do not be afraid, my child. I will guide you...you may stay with me at my home!” Her lips twitched into a larger smile, showing more of her dangerous teeth. Gulping, I raised my arms in front of me, body shaking.

    Suddenly, Flowey appeared in front of me, looking at me with a slightly concerned, but mostly questioning look. “Come on Cec-” Then its eyes fell on ‘Toriel’, and its face fell.

    Toriel stared down at Flowey with a look of insane hatred, though she kept a twisted grin on her face. Flowey was frozen in fear, and the two said nothing, before Toriel’s eyes came to me once again. “As I said before, you must be very confused. I will prepare for your arrival, so please stay here. I will fetch you in a while.” With that, she turned and left the room, quickly vanishing from sight.

    Flowey and I stood there, a heavy silence between us. After a while, Flowey squeaked out, “She saw us...”

    I gulped, shifting my weight and wrapping my arms around myself. “W-who is she?”

    Flowey gulped. “She’s the monster who’s going to kill us.” When I said nothing, Flowey continued. “That’s Toriel. She wasn’t always like this, but...when the king enacted the rule of ‘kill or be killed’, she came here. But in her isolation...” Flowey seemed to shiver. “She used to be the most caring monster in the underground, but so many humans...they came through and she helped them, until finally they tried to leave, and...” Flowey gulped, shaking its head. “Now that she’s seen us, we’re dead. There’s a reason I don’t leave the entrance, and she’s it.”

    I gulped, wrapping my arms around myself tightly. “Maybe...we can get past her? You’ve helped me this far...”

    Flowey shook its head. “If she hadn’t seen us, maybe, but...the exit to the ruins is _in her house_. And since she’s seen us, she’ll be waiting there. As soon as you walk in or I sprout up inside, we’re dead. She’ll kill us as soon as we’re separated.” I gulped, before looking around for something that might magically make us able to survive. Flowey was clearly terrified. Finally, a thought came to mind. Kneeling over it, I dug my hands into the dirt around it. Flowey stared up at me with a confused look. “What’re you...”

    I shook my head, cutting it off. “You said she’ll kill us when we’re separated. Now, we won’t be separated.” I explained blankly, picking up the flower and a bit of dirt around its roots, before dropping the dirt into my pocket. “Okay?”

    Flowey looked up at me blankly, saying nothing for a moment. Finally, it sighed. “You’re lucky I’m not a normal flower...” It mumbled, before nodding forward. “Fine, let’s go.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flowey and Cecil make it to Home, and confront Toriel for the second time.

When we finally came upon a fork in the path, I fell back against a wall, wiping sweat from my brow. With the help of Flowey, who I’d learned was a boy when referred to as ‘Prince Weed’, I’d managed my way through so many merciless puzzles I’d lost count. That last puzzle, luckily, was pretty easy, and I was relieved to have a chance to heal. Flowey, who had been quiet since our encounter with Toriel, was now silent in my pocket, not looking at me. I didn’t push, though, and merely lay my head back against the cool stone wall. In front of me was a path, a cross of dead leaves on the ground, and through the corridor I could see a large, leafless tree which just screamed death. To the right, though, an unknown path that I never expected to find out where it lead. Flowey had been adamant on keeping me on the right path, never letting me stray to the many other rooms.

After a while of sitting there, I nudged Flowey gently. He looked up at me with a clear look of fear and panic. Letting out a gulp, I struggled to smile weakly. Even though I’d been the one to push him forward, I couldn’t deny the sense of dread that had filled me with every step I took. “F-Flowey...I hate to ask this, but...do you think you could heal me? That carrot really packs a punch.”

Flowey nodded solemnly, and several of his green dots flew at me, though significantly less than the first time. Again, as soon as these dots hit me, I was met with a strange, but sweet relief. When he was done, though, he turned away from me. Knitting my eyebrows in worry, I nudged him again. After a moment, he finally spoke, though his voice was even quieter than normal. “Before we go...You should go that way.” He motioned his head to the path to the right. My eyes widened slightly, but I pushed myself to my feet. Turning, I stepped over a line of fallen ivy and into a small corner room, before stepping onto what appeared to be a balcony. The right half of the balcony had fallen away, and the rest looked mere moments from collapse as well, but as Flowey urged me on, I took a step forward. The stone balcony groaned under my weight, but otherwise didn’t protest. To the left of the door was a small black and gray piece of plastic. While I went to grab it, Flowey let out a sigh.

Straightening up, I turned the object over in my hands. It was a small plastic knife, clearly a toy. It had hard black spots I could only assume to be old blood, and I shivered at the thought. “The Underground used to be so kind...even though the monsters knew they couldn’t escape, they loved each other and cared for each other. Now...we’re stuck collecting love just to survive...” He whispered. This ‘love’ wasn’t the caring and affectionate kind you read about in storybooks. Flowey had explained to me that LV was a cold acronym, meaning instead the ability to kill others. Flipping the knife over in my hands, I wondered how much LV the original owner had collected when they’d died. Gulping, I slid the toy knife into the waistband of my pants, before turning to look over the balcony.

The view was...a dismal one. Tall, urban buildings had begun to crumble, the large cracks visible even from a great distance, and many buildings had already collapsed in on themselves. The many alleyways and streets were empty, the silence haunting. I gulped, reaching up and resting a fist over my heart. Even the awful village I’d come from wasn’t this bad. After a moment, Flowey nudged me. “Let’s get going, Cecil...” He whispered, and I nodded slowly. As I turned to leave, I couldn’t help but wonder how hard this was on him. I was an outsider, looking on an unfamiliar city with sadness. How did he, someone who had experienced it, feel, now that it had fallen apart around him?

I gulped, and wiped some sympathetic tears from my eyes. With one last look at the dismal city, I stepped away from the balcony. Now silent, a heavy gloom overcame the two of us as I stepped over the dead leaves and towards the old tree that loomed over us like death itself.

Taking a moment to look over the old tree, I let out a solemn sigh, before stepping past and towards a small house. It was built into the far wall, with two beds of dead flowers on either side of a stone arch, a window positioned above either bed, the glass shattered from the inside out. In the left bed was one of the strange stars, which I’d seen more of on our journey through the Ruins. Only giving it a passing glance, I instead looked at a large sign hung above the door. While it was cracked and had several chunks of the stone missing, the word ‘Home’ could be made out. I gulped, and looked through the arch, clenching my hands into fists as I prepared for what lie ahead of me.

Stepping into the disheveled house, I was greeted with a disgusting smell that made my stomach toss. Fighting back the urge to puke, I pulled up my neckline to cover my nose and mouth, before looking around. To the left was what looked like a sitting room, and to the right was a long hallway with several doors. In front of me was a large staircase leading down. Walking quickly, I tried to make my way to the staircase, but a female voice stopped me dead in my tracks. “Where are you going, my child?”

Slowly, I turned on my heels to face her. She still wore that twisted smile. Her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows and her hands were covered in a gray and red substance. Slowly, I met her eyes. Or tried to. Her gaze had fallen to my pants, and I gulped. She’d seen Flowey. After a moment, she met my eyes again. “I see you still have that weed.” She chuckled. “Perhaps you want a salad with your pie?”

Gulping, I took a step back, turning to shield Flowey from her gaze. “P-pie?” I managed to get out.

Her face lit up and she leaped forward, grabbing hold of my hand and pulling me to the sitting room. Quickly releasing me, she ran through another archway, giving me a moment to take in this new room.

On the wall that held the archway was a decrepit stone fireplace, the embers inside still red. To the right of that was an old wood bookshelf, several of the middle shelves collapsed in on themselves, and many old leather-bound books scattered on them and on the ground in front of it. A large armchair sat in front of the fireplace. In the other corner of the room was a long glass dining table, the surface surprisingly not broken, but with many cracks making it look a single bump away from raining shards underneath. Several old chairs were pushed up against it, claw marks covering the wood and more than one were missing a leg. On the center of the table was a clay flowerpot filled with wilted flowers and dead grasses.

Toriel quickly reappeared in the archway, and with her came a new wave of that disgusting smell. In her arms was a large pie tin, a misshapen and bumpy crust hiding its filling. Toriel’s smile somehow widened further as she set the tin on the table. “I made a pie to celebrate your arrival!” She cackled, digging her nails into a chair as she pulled it out for me. “It’s cinnamon and butterscotch! Of course...I couldn’t find cinnamon...or butterscotch...but don’t worry!” She grabbed my wrist and quickly pulled me into the chair. “I substituted with monster dust and blood!”

My stomach churned, and I smiled up at her weakly, trying hard not to show the fear I felt. “I...I would  _ love _ to try a piece, but...” I gulped, struggling to come up with an excuse. “But...I don’t...like cinnamon!”

It was a horrible excuse, but a look of distraught fell over Toriel’s features. “You...don’t?” She grit her teeth and clenched her fists. “Damn it!” She hissed, spinning on her heels. “I  _ knew _ I should have made snail pie!”

I gulped, moving out of the chair. “I-it’s okay!” I stuttered, trying to calm her down. She quickly turned towards me, her eyes wide. Before she could say anything, I added, “I’m full anyway!” As if to spite me, my stomach growled. Luckily, Toriel didn’t seem to notice. “Right now, I could really...use a nap!”

She knit her furry eyebrows, cocking her head to the side. “A...nap?”

I nodded quickly, wrapping my arms around my body in an attempt to calm myself. “Y-yeah, those... _ other _ monsters...They really know how to tire you out!”

Slowly, she nodded, and I heaved a sigh of relief, glancing nervously at the pie. “O-of...of course...” She finally said, her lips twitching upwards into another twisted grin. “L-let me show you...your room.” She walked past me and out into the entryway. Glancing down at Flowey, he simply stared, awestruck, at Toriel’s retreating figure. Slowly, I made my way after her. She had gone into the hallway, and stopped in front of the first door. “Please...make yourself...at home.”

I nodded curtly, before stepping into the room. Falling back against the door, I waited until I heard her footsteps fade away, before letting out a deep breath. Flowey had finally snapped back to reality, and looked up at me. I gulped, raising a finger to my lips. I waited a moment, though it seemed like an eternity. Slowly, when I thought she wouldn’t come back, I pushed the door open, looking to see if she was near. When I couldn’t see her, I gulped and slid out of the room, closing the door softly behind me. Motioning for Flowey to stay quiet, I made my way down the hall and to the entryway, and slowly to the staircase. A loud creak made me freeze, but when she didn’t suddenly appear, I slowly crept down the staircase.

When I reached the bottom of the staircase, I was met with a long, narrow hallway. I crept the first few steps forward, but when I thought I was safe, I took off running. My footsteps echoed down the hallway, and I instantly regret running, but continued to anyway. Turning a sharp corner, I finally saw a large, grand doorway. When I was mere steps away, my body fell against the stone as I struggled to catch my breath. How I’d managed to run up a mountain was beyond me...

Of course, a moment later, I was met with the now familiar voice. “What are you doing down here, my child?”

I let out a gulp and quickly turned so I was facing her. While she might have calmed down a bit since we first met, her insanity was back full force. Gulping, I scratched at the stone door, willing it to magically let me through. My mouth opened, but I couldn’t think up an excuse. What excuse was there to make? When I stayed silent, Toriel took a step towards me. “You’re trying to leave, aren’t you?”

Letting out a gulp, I nodded slowly, not seeing any other option. Flowey nudged me harshly. “I...I’m sorry, but...”

Toriel shook her head. “No you’re not...they never are.” She whispered, tears forming in her eyes despite the wide grin she still wore. “They...always...leave me. All my children always leave.” She let out a humorless laugh, and took a step towards me. “They don’t understand...I want to protect them...I want to love them...yet they still...leave.”

Once again, the surroundings melted away into a black room, the only things there being Toriel, Flowey and I. As we’d made our way through the Ruins, Flowey and I had been in many fights, so this wasn’t so surprising. More tears formed in her eyes as Toriel waited for me to act first. I raised my hands in front of me. “I...I don’t want to fight you...”

Before I could even finish my sentence, several fireballs formed around her form. “You always leave...” She whispered as I struggled to dodge her attacks. I tried to say this again, but she shook her head. “You never see...They...Asgore...” She whispered, sending another onslaught of fire at me. As I jumped out of the way of one particularly difficult fireball, a sizzling sound hit my ears, and I smelt burnt hair.

Pushing myself back to my feet, I cried, “I won’t fight!”

Toriel shook her head, sending even more fire at me. “They’ll give you a fate worse than death...” She took a step towards me, and I took a step back, trying to move out of the way, but one hit my thigh, sending pain through my body as I let out a cry. “All I want to do...is give you a painless death...”

“Painless?” I cried, falling to my knee as pain ran through me.

She nodded, pointing at my leg. “At least...I can protect one of you...”

My eyes widened as I realized what she meant, and I looked down at my leg. My pants pocket was scorched black, a bit of dirt falling from inside, and a charred-looking Flowey lay limply on the stone. His petals had already begun to wilt and lose their color, his features near nonexistent as he looked more and more like a flower. Tears formed in my eyes and my heart fell in my chest as I looked down at his wilted corpse. Slowly, I pushed myself to my feet, my body twitching slightly.

I turned to face Toriel, my hair falling to cover my teary eyes, and I grabbed hold of the plastic knife in my waistband. She stood there, waiting for me to act, her smile finally seeming to falter into a concerned frown. Pulling the knife from my waistband, I stepped towards her. She stepped back. I grit my teeth and my muscles clenched, my nails digging into my palms. “Protect?” I whispered, taking another step forward. “Who are you protecting? Certainly not the humans you’ve killed...certainly not the monsters you’ve slaughtered...” I motioned to myself and Flowey with the knife. “You’re just protecting yourself...justifying your sins with lies you tell yourself of protecting us...”

I shook my head violently. “I came here...trying to get away from that ‘protection’.” I hissed, grip on the plastic handle tightening. “But I’m stuck with it. On the surface...in the Underground...” I let out a dry chuckle. “So I wanted to die. So I  _ want _ to die, but...” I raised the knife towards her. “I won’t give you the pleasure of killing me.” My lips twitched upwards and I glared at her through my hair. “It’s my turn to ‘protect’.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cecil escapes the Ruins.

She stared at me blankly, her eyes wide, stepping back. Taking advantage of her shock, I lunged forward, slashing at her with the plastic knife. This seemed to pull her out of her shocked state, and she dropped her head, tears forming in her eyes. “Fine, my child. If you do not wish to make this easy, then neither shall I.” With that, several fireballs formed around her, before flying towards me with incredible speed. Gulping loudly, I quickly slipped back, dodging the fire as I backed myself towards the wall. When I hit the stone surface, the last remnant of the real world surrounding this magical battlefield, I felt my lips twitch upwards into a smirk. Kneeling into a sprinter’s position, with my back foot pressed against the wall, I lunged forward, swinging the knife at her wildly. Seemingly unable to dodge, she let out a hiss as the hard plastic connected with her, but she showed no signs of any injury. She wouldn’t, I knew; monsters didn’t have blood.

    “Do you like my protection?” I hissed, coming to a quick stop as she sent more fireballs my way. Easily dodging them, I wasted no time in attacking her. “I’m protecting you from having to kill me!” My voice dripped with venom as I leapt back from her next barrage of fire.

    We continued this dance for what seemed like an eternity, as she tried to burn me alive and I slashed violently at her with the plastic knife. Just when I was starting to feel hopeless, sure that I was on the verge of death as another of her fireballs hit me, this one in the shoulder, she fell to her knees, a pained look on her face. Stumbling back, it took me a moment to recover from this last hit. As I reeled from the overall damage, she grit her teeth and spat, “Just kill me already...be done with me.”

    Struggling to regain my balance, I finally managed to straighten myself. Looking down at her, I raised the knife so it was level with her eyes. My hand shook as I thought about actually doing it, but after a moment I tossed the piece of plastic aside as the blackness surrounding us faded away, once again revealing the stone-walled hallway. The large doorway stood to my right, and had opened slightly during the battle. The knife clattered against the wall, quickly forgotten. Despite the pain I was in, I pushed my shoulders back to glare down at her. “I didn’t come down here to kill others.” I spat at her, and she looked up at me through her eyelashes, a look of hatred etched into her features.

    After a moment, she let out a humorless laugh, before pointing at the door. “Get out...before I regain my strength.”

    My lips pulled back in a snarl, but I quickly pushed the heavy door just far enough to squeeze myself out. The door quickly slammed shut behind me, the sound echoing throughout my new environment.

    I now found myself in a large forest, surrounded by tall, leafless trees with black, charred-looking bark. The ground was covered in snow, with a crude path leading through the only route not blocked by trees. The cold bit straight through my sweater, and I gulped, pulling at the stretched out neckline to cover more of my shoulders. On the plus side, the cold quickly numbed my pain, and, taking a deep breath of the icy air, I started walking forward.

    Wind whipped around me, making it difficult to see as I made my way down the path. I quickly ran my hands over my arms, trying to warm myself, but it only seemed to make the bitter cold more noticeable.

    As I made my way down the path, I almost tripped over a thick branch that suddenly appeared from the blizzard haze. Gulping, I quickly straightened myself, looking around in a strange fit of paranoia. Of course, there was nobody around. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. Why would there be, in this weather?

    Slowly, I continued down the path, and the stick was quickly swallowed by white. I didn’t make it ten feet before a loud snap hit my ears, echoing slightly in the woods and clearly audible despite the howling wind around me. Gulping, I didn’t turn back and instead continued forward.

    Not long after, I heard soft footsteps through the wind, and though they were quiet, they were there. This time, I did turn around, but the whiteout made it impossible to see the source of the noise. Gritting my teeth, I turned on my heels and kept going.

    I quickly came upon a small gorge, a narrow wooden bridge connecting to the other side, but a large fence of splintering but sturdy wood blocked the way. Gulping, I started to look for a different way around when I became aware of a presence nearby. Despite the already intense cold, a notable chill ran through my body, and I felt warm breath on the back of my neck. I stood, frozen, and behind me was a low, dangerous voice.

    “Human. Look at me when I’m talkin’ to you.”

    Slowly, I turned around, but before I could see whoever was talking to me, I was lifted by the neck and slammed back against the fence. My eyes widened and I reached up, gripping whatever was holding me off the ground. My hand was met with  soft fabric, but underneath I felt two narrow, very hard... _things_. My head spun at the sudden shift in position, but after a moment, I could see...the white haze of snow.

    Slowly, I looked down, and the first thing I saw was a red circle against black. After a second, I managed to pull my eyes away from that, and saw...white, but not from the snow. Glancing over the figure below me, I struggled to connect the dots at what I was seeing. He, at least I think it was male, looked like...a skeleton caricature, with smooth, ivory bone, only opening to form a nasal cavity that looked like a sharp, upside down heart, and two large black eye sockets. At the center of his left eye was the red circle, seeming to act as a pupil, and it seemed to emit a strange red smoke or mist. The mouth wasn’t an actual jaw, but rather a wide, but cruel cheshire grin, filled with many pointed teeth, one of which was gold. The skeleton wore a large black jacket over a red turtleneck sweater, with a messy, cream colored fur trim around the hood and sleeves. Above the skeleton’s eyes were thin black lines that moved like eyebrows, currently spiked downwards to add to his strangely sinister look.

    The skeleton’s grin seemed to widen slightly, and he tilted his head to the side. “Now what’s a little human like you doing in the Underground?” His voice sent a chill through me, deep and gravelly, with an underlying sense that he was dangerous. I gulped against the hand wrapped around my neck, biting my lip, unsure of what to do. My silence clearly wasn’t an answer though, and he pressed his hand harder against my throat, cutting off my air supply. “I asked you a _question_ , meat bag.”

    I gulped, scratching against his arm, quickly realizing that the two things in his sleeves were bones. He took the hint and lowered me to the ground, but kept me pinned to the fence. The cold air stung my lungs, but I drank it up in large gasps nonetheless, my lungs already aching from the short time without it. After a moment, however, he tightened his grip again, if only for a second. Gulping, I nodded quickly. “I...I came here...” I knit my eyebrows. If I told him I wanted to die, he’d certainly do it. So why couldn’t I just spit it out?

    My thoughts instantly went to Flowey. He hadn’t wanted me to die...even though it wouldn’t have affected him in the slightest, even though I’d pushed him to do things he didn’t want to do...he still wanted me to live. Tears formed in my eyes, and I shook my head, looking away from the skeleton. “I just...fell down a hole...” I whispered.

    He raised one of his pseudo-brows, before letting out a short bark of laughter. “That’s it? No hatred for humanity? No desire to end your life? You just fucking _tripped_?”

    I gulped, nodding slowly. “I...I’m a bit of a klutz...”

    The red pupil circled in his eye socket, and I could only assume this was him rolling his eyes. “So, Klutz, what’s to stop me from killing you right now?”

    I gulped and lowered my eyes from his. Even without wanting to die, I couldn’t think of a reason to live besides my dead friend, and that clearly wouldn’t be a good enough reason for him. His grin twisted upwards, his hand tightening around my throat.

    This time, his grip on my neck didn’t let up, and after a short moment that felt like an eternity, the edges of my vision began to fade. Tears formed in the corners of my eyes, and I grit my teeth, clenching my eyes shut. Why was the world so cruel? As soon as I got the will to live...I was going to die...I would have laughed if it was possible.

    It couldn’t have been long, but those moments without air seemed like hours. My body quickly began to ache as my lungs screamed for oxygen. Reflexively, I grabbed at his arm with both hands, squeezing at the bones as strong as I could. He didn’t even flinch at this, and I let out a silent sob, lips twitching upwards into a pained smile. My mind was reeling, thoughts of all my regrets prominent. Tears streamed down my cheeks, from both the physical pain and the mental pain of reliving all my mistakes...Opening the door on Dad when I was six...Not taking that medicine when I was eight...Getting in that fight at school when I was fourteen...

    And of course, at the top of that list, stood a new memory. The memory of Flowey’s death...as I dodged the fire thinking only of myself, and not once about him until it was too late...until he was nothing more than the charred remains of a golden flower. This memory brought on a new onslaught of tears.

    Just as I could feel my consciousness slipping, I heard...a meow? The grip on my neck instantly relaxed, and I gasped desperately, struggling to fill my lungs with the sweet, icy goodness. My eyes snapped open and I looked at my attacker. Both of his eyes were black, his eyebrows arched downwards, and his grin twitching slightly. Sweat poured from his skull, and I decided not to wonder how that worked. Was he... _nervous_?

    After a moment to ponder that thought, I felt a tug at my socks, something sharp pricking my ankle. Twisting my neck in his grip, I finally managed to look down past the skeleton’s hand and my own body, finding the source of the meow. There, by my left ankle, was a large, fluffy cat, kneading at my sock and sneaker gently. It was mostly white, with brown markings around its eyes, ears, and the tip of its tail, with tan scattered along its entire body, and pale blue eyes. Unlike everything else I’d encountered, save for on a TV screen, the cat wore an expression of contentment, rubbing itself against my leg, with vibrations against the spot  telling me it was purring as it did so. We stayed like that for a moment, both staring at the cat, before the skeleton muttered lowly, “Stupid cat...” His body seemed to shake slightly, as if he were holding himself back. In one quick motion, he released my neck and grabbed the cat by the scruff of its neck. Despite the rough treatment, the cat was purring happily.

    I stood there, not knowing what to do in this situation. The skeleton’s body still pinned me to the fence, making escape impossible, but I didn’t dare talk. So instead I flattened myself against the fence, trying to get as much distance between the two of us as I could. When I moved, however, the cat stirred from its contented state, reaching its paws towards me. I raised my eyebrows, unsure of how to react. The skeleton stared at me with an annoyed expression, before glancing down at the cat, and then back to me. “You like the human, fleabag?” He asked. The cat replied by reaching towards me again. He rolled the red in his eye socket again and shoved the cat at me. It quickly latched its claws into my sweater, rubbing its face against my cheek. “Goddamn it Papyrus...” He growled under his breath, glaring at the cat, and then at me.

    I stay frozen, the skeleton glaring at me coldly, as if wondering what to do with me. Between us, the only sound came from the cat purring against my chest. Even the wind seemed to stop whipping around us. After a while of standing in the silence, unable to move far, I gathered the courage to speak. “Your...pet?”

    The skeleton, who had returned to staring at the cat, snapped his head up to glare at me, the circle in his eye glowing bright. “No!” He spat, voice dripping with hatred. “I hate this fucking thing! Like hell I’d have a-” He stopped mid-sentence, and I knit my eyebrows in question, but didn’t dare open my mouth again. He looked over me with an expression I couldn’t quite describe, before meeting my eyes again, his grin even wider than before. I gulped, trying to step back, but the fence behind me made it impossible to do so. After an eternity under his glare, he spoke. “You got a name, meatbag?”

    I gulped again, nodding quickly. “C-Cecil...”

    He let out a low chuckle. “Good girl. I need to know what to call my pet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a lovely Beta-Reader by the pseudonym CatsandFlowers. Makes my writing better, so show some love!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cecil is taken as the pet of a weird skeleton.

I stared at him blankly, struggling to process what he had just said. After a moment, I finally managed to squeak out, “P-pet?”

He nodded, his grin twitching again. “You heard me, meatbag. You’re gonna be my little pet human.”

I gulped, once again trying to take an impossible step back, and his pseudo-brow arched upwards as he cocked his head to the side, glaring at me cruelly. “That is, assuming you don’t want me to rip your soul from your body.”

Like most things he said, that sent a chill through me, and I tightened my grip on the cat, biting harshly at my lip. He chuckled lowly, suddenly grabbing my arm. The world around me seemed to shift, but my back was still against the fence, the skeleton still stood in front of me, and the cat was still my my arms. Blinking away this strange sensation, I barely registered when he started to drag me down the path. I knit my eyebrows in confusion. “Where are we...”

He quickly cut me off. “It’s a shortcut to my house.”

He dragged me for who knows how long. With every step I took, I became more and more aware of the chill that had settled in my bones. With this cold came a sense of confusion, and at one point I completely forgot that I was underground. As he pulled me, I stopped wondering how we had gotten past the fence, or what was going to happen to me, and instead decided to just focus on the white snow underfoot. It crunched under my weight, a crisp sound that seemed to grate against my very being. The sound only made me more aware of the silence that surrounded us, the wind having stopped after the skeleton’s dramatic entrance, and no words being spoken between us. Even the cat, which still clung to me tightly, hadn’t made a sound.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I became aware of buildings around us, which snapped me out of my trance. Looking around, I found myself to be in what looked like a little town, only a little worse than my village on the surface. A torn sign declared that the name of the town was Snowdin, though painted atop that were the ever so welcoming words ‘Get Out’. The path here was smoother than in the woods, and frozen dirt even showed in some spots. Several small wooden buildings lay on either side of the path, most with signs that I didn’t have the chance to read, though most of them looked too damaged anyways. But the worst thing was the people. Several large, anthropomorphic animals stood on the path, or could be seen through the windows of buildings, but as we passed, they all sent cold, hateful glares at us. We passed a large, dead pine tree, with a small, armless, lizard...person, who seemed to direct their glare specifically at me. Gulping quietly, I stopped looking around and instead chose to stare at the back of the skeleton’s jacket.

Finally, the skeleton stopped dragging me, though in my confusion I accidentally stumbled into his back. He glowered at me over his shoulder, but didn’t say anything, finally releasing me from his grip. “You run, you’re dead.” He warned, pulling a keychain out of his pocket. Blinking at this, I turned to look at where we had stopped.

A large house stood next to us, and while it looked well cared for, it had a sense of dread looming over it. In front of us was a wooden shack with no windows, and the door seemed to be locked. After a moment of fumbling with the keychain, the skeleton seemed to find the right one, and quickly jammed it into the lock before throwing the door open violently, making me jump. He quickly grabbed hold of my arm and threw me inside, walking in after me and closing the door behind us.

I quickly fell to the ground. The shack was a little warmer than the outside, but not much, and when I recovered from the fall, I quickly curled up into a small ball, trying to warm myself up. As if to help me out, the cat began rubbing itself against me, purring gently. My lips twitched upwards, if only for a second, but the skeleton didn’t appreciate my ignoring his presence. He quickly brought his foot to my stomach, slamming me back against the wall. Luckily, the cold left me numb to the pain, and instead I simply looked up at him.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, staring down at me coldly. “I’m not done with you yet, meatbag.” He spat. “So don’t go getting so cozy.”

I gulped, looking away from his eyes. “What do you want from me?” I whispered, tears forming in my eyes. “I didn’t do anything to you...”

He shrugged, his grin twitching. “You’re gonna sit here, and you're gonna be quiet. My brother finds ya, you won’t get a chance to talk. In the meantime, you’re gonna do whatever I say and be a good little human.”

I grit my teeth and looked down at myself, wrapping my arms around my knees. “W...why? What did I do?”

He chuckled lowly, stooping down and grabbing my jaw, making me look at him. “You came to the Underground, little girl.” With that, he pushed me away from him, and my head slammed back against the wall with a thud, eliciting a soft whimper. He chuckled again. “I’ll be back later. Be a good human, and maybe I’ll bring you some food.”

I whimpered again, pulling my knees to my chest. “Can I at least know your name?”

He froze in the doorway for a second, before looking back at me. “Sans. But you can call me Master.” With that, he left, slamming the door closed behind him. With a light  _ click _ , I knew the door had been locked, and I whimpered, feeling tears form in my eyes.

Before I could start crying, though, something soft rubbed against my cheek. Startled, I jumped away from the touch, only to find a concerned looking cat staring up at me. I’d completely forgotten about it. I let out a light chuckle, reaching out to pet it. The cat completely ignored my outstretched hand and jumped up onto my lap instead, rubbing itself against me, as if to cheer me up. Raising an eyebrow, I picked up the cat. “Do you have a name, little kitty?”

It stared at me for a second, before rubbing itself against me again. Letting out a weak laugh, I quickly checked and found out it was a boy, and pulled him close to me. “I think I’ll call you Carlos.” He purred against me, and I giggled weakly. “Well, at least someone’s happy...”

I threw my arms up as he went to slap me. My resistance only made him angrier, though, and he grabbed my arm roughly, yanking me towards him. Stumbling closer, he quickly brought up his leg to knee me in the stomach, and I let out a pained cry, tears forming in my eyes. He quickly threw me to the ground and lifted his foot above me. “I’m sorry!” I cried, raising my arms over my head as he kicked me again and again.

“Stupid bitch!” He spat, when he finally stopped. “You’ll do as you’re told.” With that, he grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the door, quickly pushing me out of the room and slamming the door behind me.

I whimpered, struggling to pick myself up, when I felt something soft brush against my cheek. Knitting my eyebrows, I turned my head to see a cat staring at me with big blue eyes. Suddenly, though, the eyes turned completely black and the cat grinned widely at me, before opening its mouth to speak. “Human.” The voice was deep and strangely familiar, though I couldn’t tell from where. “Yo, meatbag, wake up!” Slowly, I reached out to touch the cat, only to have pain run through my stomach, and I lurched to the side. My eyes quickly snapped open and I found myself staring up at some wooden rafters. I blinked a few times, struggling to make sense of where I was, when I felt another harsh blow to my stomach, sending me flying. When the world stopped spinning and everything merged into one clear  image, I looked around.

I was in a small wooden shack, and I quickly remembered what was happening.  My eyes quickly landed on a fuming figure that stood above me, his sharp grin twitching. In his pockets were some strange lumps, not from his hands, which were clenched into fists at his sides. I gulped, meeting his eyes only to get a sharp slap across the face, before he took  hold of my jaw in a tight grip. It was only now that I realized he wore several rings, the cool metal pressed against my neck, not helping the intense cold that already filled my body. “I don’t care if you’re in a coma. When I’m so nice as to bring you food, you better be awake.” He hissed, before throwing me aside. I whimpered, quickly pulling my knees to my chest. He snarled and reached into his pocket, quickly throwing its contents at me. “I’ll let it slide once, but  _ don’t _ let it happen again.” Knitting my eyebrows, I grabbed what he had thrown at me, which lay about a foot away from me. A white plastic package held what felt like an ice cream bar, and flipping it over revealed the words ‘Mean Cream’ on it. I raised an eyebrow and looked up at the skeleton, who was apparently named Sans. His grin twitched, and seemed to falter for a second. “Eat it. It’ll heal you.” He spat, voice dripping with hatred.

I gulped, doubting that greatly, but I popped open the package. Inside was a large chocolate ice cream bar, and at the end of the stick I saw some cut off words. Taking a quick bite, I shivered at the added cold and quickly swallowed it. As soon as I swallowed, though, I was filled with a strange, but familiar feeling as wounds in my body quickly healed. Despite the sudden relief that filled my body, I felt tears well in my eyes and dropped my head. “Flowey...”

Sans raised an eyebrow, staring down at me with annoyance. “Why’re you crying? Did that cunt poison it?” He quickly snatched the ice cream from my hands, examining it closely. When he deemed it safe, he glared down at me. I shook my head. “Then what’s wrong?”

I barked out a short laugh, my lips twitching upwards in a grimace. Even if he didn’t know about Flowey, he had no reason to question my tears. Despite wanting to yell at him about my current situation, I bit back the venom and simply said, “Nothing...”

What I didn’t expect was a hand to quickly catch me by the throat, picking me up and slamming my back against the wall. He glared at me cruelly. “Bullshit. When I ask a question, I expect the answer.”

My shoulders fell and I met his eyes, glaring at him blankly. “You really like this position, don’t you?” He let out a low growl, and his skeletal ‘lips’ twitched downwards for a second. I sighed softly, looking away from him. “My friend...he healed me...and when the ice cream healed me, I was reminded of him.”

He raised an eyebrow and scoffed, his grin returning full force. “So why ya cryin’? Little cunt end up hurting ya?”

At my sides, my hands clenched into fists, and I tilted my head down, refusing to look at him as more tears formed in my eyes. “He got killed.” I grit my teeth tightly as these new tears overflowed, streaming down my cheeks. “Because of me...”

Sans raised an eyebrow, rolling his eyes. “Some friend you were.” He let go of my throat, and I rubbed my neck gently. “People die. Get over it.” At that, I grit my teeth until it felt like they would break, but I said nothing. He turned his back to me and pulled open the door. He didn’t leave immediately, though, looking back over his shoulder at me. “Oh, and eat up. Can’t have my little human dying on me.” With that, he tossed a few more packages of food at me, before slamming the door shut and locking it again.

I stood there, silent for a moment, not caring about the new onslaught of biting cold as I stared at the door. Finally, I bent over and grabbed one of the packages of food. Another Mean Cream. Snarling, I chucked it at the wall as hard as I could. It just smacked against the wood, before falling to the ground limply. The anger only lasted for a short while after that, and as soon as it left my legs collapsed under me. I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around myself, crying into my legs.

I cried for what seemed like an eternity, alone, cold, and miserable, feeling even worse than when I first came to the Underground. How long ago was that? It seemed like only a second had gone by, but also an eternity, the events blurring together. And yet, despite this new, worse pain, I didn’t want to die.

I let out a sigh when I finally ran out of tears, lifting my head up. Darkness had filled the shack, but I looked around nonetheless, and felt another stab at my heart. Carlos was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cecil is found by a new monster.

I can't say how long I stayed in the shed. I was left alone for hours on end in the icy cold, eating the rations the skeleton would bring me whenever the heat of hypothermia set in, but only often enough to keep me alive. The hunger pained me, but if I ate too often I risked going even longer without food if I ran out before he came back.

        When he did come, it wasn't any better than my constant cycle of numbing myself to the bone, only to heal myself and start dying of the cold again. I made it a habit to fall asleep right after he left, and forced myself through to his next visit, lest I piss him off by being asleep when he showed up again. Even without sleeping through his arrival, every time I heard the metallic jingle of keys, I knew I was in for a beating. He'd interrogate me on stupid things. Why I came to the underground, how I got past 'the door'. If I ever gave an unsatisfactory answer, which seemed to be anything, he'd attack me. His favorite way seemed to be digging his bony fingers into my neck, almost suffocating me, before forcing a small piece of candy past my lips to keep me alive. Other times, he just kicked me with enough force to send me across the shack, or tried to strangle me _without_ digging his sharp fingertips into my flesh, which would make me bleed before he healed me.

        The shack was filled with light again, whatever acted as the sun here shining through the cracks in the wood. I sat in the corner furthest from the door, knees pulled to my chest and arms wrapped around them tightly to keep them closer to me. The only sound was that of the harsh wind outside beating against the wood, and my faint breathing and heart beat.

        Gulping, I ran my arms over myself, trying to heat myself up, but to no avail. The time between Sans' visits were, albeit safer than when he was here, boring. Every now and again I'd jump to my feet and start pacing to prevent hypothermia, but this never lasted long, and I mostly huddled in my corner, thinking, hurting, crying. At first, I wondered how I still had water to cry despite eating nothing but 'Mean Creams', but quickly pushed that thought aside. How did it heal me? How was I surviving on nothing but ice cream despite the hypothermia that had set in before I ate them? Nothing underground made sense, and I chose not to drive myself mad trying to figure it out.

        My heart skipped a beat when I heard the sounds of claws on wood. Quickly abandoning my corner, I scrambled across the shack, not bothering to push myself to my feet, and made my way to the door. "Carlos?" I whispered, feeling a weak sense of happiness, or at least the closest thing I could get to it. The scratching stopped, and I heard a light mew from the other side. I let out a weak chuckle, the sound foreign to my own ears at this point, and poked my fingers under the thin crack between the cold floor and the wooden door. I was immediately met with snow, but with my fingers almost completely numb with frostbite, I didn't care. I wanted to pet the only thing that brought me comfort; it's not like it'd do any real harm anyway.

        Due to the frostbite in my fingers, it took me a moment to feel the cat rubbing himself against me. I didn't, actually, until he pressed his mouth against my digits, his sharp tooth running over my skin. Suddenly, a sharp pain filled my fingers, and I ripped my hand away, hissing in pain. Carlos let out a confused meow, scratching at the door gently, while I spat out curses as my hand felt like it was on fire, as needles seemed to stab me from the inside out. I grit my teeth, clenched my eyes shut, and pushed myself across the shack to my pile of 'Mean Creams'. There were only two left, but not thinking, I ripped the packaging off and shoved it into my mouth, taking a bite and shivering as relief flooded over my body as it healed me.

        When all the pain had left me, I spat out the stick of the Mean Cream and made my way back over to the door. Sticking my newly healed fingers under, I shivered at the cold now, but was happy when I felt Carlos rub his soft fur against me again. He let out a soft purr as he pressed himself against my hand, and I breathed out a weak chuckle.

        Suddenly, though, Carlos froze, and slowly pulled himself away from my seeking touch. Knitting my eyebrows, I opened my mouth to question it, but another voice cut me off.

        "Doomfanger! What are you doing outside the prison?" This wasn't Sans' voice. It was much higher, shriller, and sounded like the speaker needed to cough. Letting out a quiet gulp, I pushed myself away from the door, hoping the speaker didn't magically notice me through the solid wood. I hadn't heard any other monsters since my imprisonment in the shack. Not this close, at least. Outside, I heard heavy footsteps approaching the shack. Biting my lip, I held my breath, hoping the speaker would just take Carlos, or _Doomfanger_ , as they seemed to call him, and leave. This made me feel guilty, but at the moment I was too worried for my own skin to care about the cat's.

        However, as if to punish my selfish thoughts, I heard a light jingle of metal that I knew to be keys. Biting down on my lip, I squeezed my eyes shut, my heart hammering in my chest. Outside, there was a loud yowling, followed by the voice yelling, "Doomfanger! Behave!" With that, the door flew open. I gulped, and instantly felt all blood drain from my body.

        In the doorway stood a tall, menacing skeleton. He was at least 6 foot, almost the height of the door. He was skinny and wore a rounded black chestplate with shoulderplates that spiked out to the sides, and a long, tattered red scarf around his neck. He had spiky red gloves that almost hid his elbows, black leather pants with a red belt, and red knee-high boots with black belt buckles across them for seemingly no reason. His face was a lot...sharper than Sans', and his skeletal 'lips' were indistinguishable from his pointed teeth, which ended in such a way that made him seem to be perpetually frowning. Unlike Sans, both of his narrow eye sockets had small, almost nonexistent pinprick pupils, and his left eye had three cracks in the bone. He held Carlos in his arms, the cat wearing a somehow fearful expression in his big blue eyes, but otherwise all of his attention was on me.

        Like Sans, he seemed to have a pair of pseudo-eyebrows that formed in his bony features. He raised one of them, his mouth seeming to grow another tooth to make him appear to be smirking. I really needed to stop trying to make sense of this monster science.

        We stay there for what felt like an eternity, me cowering in the corner as he stared down at me predatorily. Even Carlos obeyed this terrifying tension, staring at me as if he were apologizing. Finally, as I was about to go mad from the sound of my heartbeat hammering in my ears, the skeleton spoke. "Well lookie here! Who knew all I had to do to get a human, was look in my _own prison_." He grew a few more teeth, his grin stretching across his skull into a twisted smile. He took a step closer to me. "I knew you'd be useful, Doomfanger!" He cackled, glancing down at the cat, who glared up at him. Another step closer to me. I tried to shrink away from him, wanting to disappear inside myself.

        I gulped, opening my mouth to speak, but not knowing what to say. I felt he wouldn't obey a 'please don't murder me,' but what else was there to say? Gulping again, I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling tears form in my eyes. Suddenly, however, I was being picked up by my neck, with cool, rubbery fabric pressing against my jaw and neck. Despite the thick fabric, I could feel thin bones underneath it.

        He forced me to look at him, and my eyes snapped open. Even this close, I could barely see his pinprick pupils as they bore into me. It was as if he was staring straight through to my soul. I gulped, wondering if that was something monsters could do. He spoke again. "How did you get in my prison?" He spat, but before I could answer, he dropped me to the ground, the suddenness of it leaving me unprepared and destined to fall to my ass. "Ah well," He sighed, turning around to take a few steps away from me. Before I could hope he would leave, however, a long, glowing red bone formed in his hand. It was almost as tall as he was, and the end narrowed into a sharp point. Carlos wasn't with him, and I didn't dare look around for him.

        "The Great Papyrus needs not know _how_ you came to be here! All that matters is that I rip that soul right out of your body!" He spun around and raised the bone over his head. I instinctively threw my hands in the air, covering my face from a blow that never came. Instead, I heard a loud yowl, and the skeleton started swearing violently. "Doomfanger!" He spat, and I lowered my arms to see what was going on. Carlos had his paws in the skeleton's eye sockets, hissing furiously, as the skeleton tried to pull him away. The cat stayed for another moment, scratching at the skeleton's hands with his back paw while he attacked the skeleton's eyes. Finally, though, the cat was surrounded by a faint blue glow, before flying across the shed in a white blur, hitting the wall harshly and slumping to the ground, limp.

        Seemingly furious now, the skeleton re-summoned his bone weapon, which had disappeared in the attack, and raised it over his head again, quickly swinging it down. Again, I threw my arms above my head, quickly mentally preparing myself for my imminent death.

        That moment was...terrifying. The world seemed to slow as I tried to rationalize my own death, cope with my soon-to-be-murder. _I wanted to die not long ago, so what's it matter now?_ I thought, and wanted to cry. _At least then I can meet Flowey again...Hopefully he's not upset with me..._ These thoughts and a million more ran through my head in what must've been less than a second before I heard a loud, sickening crack. My tears overflowed, and in my fear I thought I must've been dead. That bone had connected with my skull, killing me in an instant. That had to be the sound, and now I was dead, lucky enough to not feel pain.

        When I heard their voices, though, I realized this wasn't the case. "S-Sans! What the fuck are you _doing_?" The high pitched voice of the new skeleton hissed, fury obvious in his voice. At that, I lowered my arms slightly, just enough to see in front of me, and what I saw was...shocking, to say the least.

        Not a foot away from me, Sans stood, and despite being only slightly taller than me standing up, towered over me in my current position. His back was turned to me, his left arm held high above him, his bony hands gripping a sharp red object I could only assume to be the tall skeleton's weapon. He emanated a dangerous aura, and I didn't need to see his face for my fear to suddenly shift to him.

        His murderous aura was reflected in his voice, as he finally spoke. "Sorry Boss. You might kill _your_ pets, but mine are off limits." His voice dripped with warning. He gripped the weapon in his hand, and the bone seemed to crack, before vanishing into nothing. With it gone, he lowered his hand and returned it to its natural position in his pocket. Sans took a step forward. "And the human. Is. _Mine_."

        Now closer to the taller skeleton, I could see his face as he towered over Sans. Rather than show the intense fear I wore being _protected_ by this statement, the skeleton wore a look of repressed fury. His mouth shook and his gloved hands were clenched into fists at his side, his eyes wider but staring at Sans as though he wanted to kill the deviant.

        After a moment in the tense atmosphere that seemed to rob me of my breath, the taller skeleton snarled and turned away, tilting his head up indignantly. "Stupid little..." Before I could even comprehend that he was talking, Sans staggered back, a loud _crack_ echoing through the shack. It took me a moment to realize the taller skeleton had backhanded him. He raised his hands, his focus now directed at Sans, as the bony weapon reappeared in his hands. "Insignificant...Lazy...!" He harshly brought the weapon down on Sans' head, another painful crack echoing through the shack. Sans dropped to the ground this time, struggling to push himself up slightly. The skeleton, however, simply raised the weapon above him again. "Piece of shit brother!" He brought the weapon down on Sans again and again, until he stopped trying to push himself off the ground. Finally, his attacks ended, and the weapon vanished from his hands, though he still seemed to be furious as his hands clenched into fists and opened repeatedly, his teeth separating at the outer corner to form a snarl. When he seemed to calm... _slightly_...his gaze fell to me, and I froze, instantly expecting to be the next victim to his attack.

        Luckily, though, his snarl deepened before he turned away from me, a clear look of disgust on his face before he made his way to the door. "If you want to keep it, get it out of _my_ prison!" He hissed, before slamming the door shut behind him and locking us inside.

        I sat there, frozen, trying to process what the hell had just happened. My mind was blank for answers, however, and I instead scrambled to see if my two shack-mates were dead.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cecil and her captor switch roles...for a moment.

I gulped, staring down at the single Mean Cream in my hands. Looking around the shack, my focus went from Sans to Carlos, wondering who I should heal. After much consideration, I moved towards Sans, intense guilt paining me. I quickly shook these thoughts away. Sans could bring more food.

         The skeleton lay in a heap on the floor, his skull cracked and dented where he'd been hit. Gulping, I struggled to move him into a position that would make feeding him easier. He was heavier than his status as a skeleton would make it seem, and I struggled to roll him onto his back. After way more effort than I had anticipated, Sans flopped over, his knees bent under him, his right arm under his form, contorted awkwardly, and his left sprawled out on the floor of the shed. I raised an eyebrow at him. Despite being unconscious, his face kept his ever-present grin, though notably weaker than normal. With his eyes closed, his sharp grin looked less...murdery...and he almost looked nice, in a weird way. This thought startled me, and I quickly remembered his past visits. He had hurt me! Thrown me against the wall, brought me close to death time and time again! But...

        Shaking these thoughts aside, I quickly pulled open the package and brought it close to his mouth, before pausing. I blinked a few times, before cocking my head to the side. I...d never seen him open his mouth. Even when he was talking, his teeth never separated, and he always wore that grin, even if it sometimes twitched or faltered slightly. "Uh..."I bit down on my own lip, trying to think of how to make this work. I had been holding his head to keep him in a position that hopefully wouldn't choke him, but seeing no other option than to forcibly pry his mouth open, I shifted my position and stretched my legs out, before resting his head on them to keep it raised. Switching the Mean Cream to my left hand, I gulped anxiously as I reached towards him. This was the most I'd ever touched him of my own volition. Has hell frozen over? Here lay my captor, incapacitated, abused, being pushed around, literally, by me as I tried to forcibly heal him. I blinked at the irony, before prying his mouth open.

        It took an unexpected amount of effort to open the unconscious skeleton's mouth, but after a moment, it fell open without any sign I'd broken him, which was reassuring, since I'd briefly, anxiously considered that he might be _unable_ to open his mouth for some strange reason. I hesitantly lifted my hand, but was relieved when his mouth stayed open, and I switched the Mean Cream to my right hand to make feeding him easier.

        His mouth was...weird. Behind his teeth was a glowing, blood red tongue, but other than that, there was...nothing. Rather than showing out the other side, his mouth merely had the same inky black as his eye sockets. Gulping, I put the Mean Cream in his mouth, not knowing what else to do. After a moment, I held the stick with my left hand and made him chew with my right. This was, by far, the weirdest experience I'd ever had. Even after being magically healed by a talking flower, even after fighting an anthropomorphic goat that shot fire at me from seemingly nowhere. This was much, much weirder.

        After a moment of awkwardly making him chew the ice cream, I wondered if it was a moot point. As if on cue, or maybe just to make sure I was wrong, the figure on my lap jolted violently upwards, making me jump back at the sudden movement. He coughed violently, spitting the Mean Cream out, before grabbing the stick and spinning on his heels, his eye glowing bright, his grin once again murderous. I instantly regretted feeding him, but even as I thought this, I could see the splintered bone on his head smoothing over. A...strange sight to see, to say the least. He stomped over to me, quickly grabbing me by the throat, and lifting me off my feet. Instinctively, I grabbed his skeletal hand around my neck. He said nothing, holding me there for a moment, before rolling his eyes and dropping me to my feet. I was expecting it this time, though, and quickly balanced myself.

        He glared down at me, and despite being only an inch shorter than him, I felt puny. He raised a brow, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards. "I didn't know you cared so much about me, doll."� He chuckled pompously.

        Despite having been there for who knows how long, I struggled not to spit at him about how I didn't, and had only healed him since he was my only way of getting food. Instead, however, I asked, "W-what...Who was that?"

        He instantly lost his condescending demeanor, sweat forming on his skull, and his eye sockets went completely black. "W-who do you...mean?" He stuttered. It sounded strange coming from him.

        I raised an eyebrow, trying desperately not to give him a sarcastic glare. Taking a step back, I looked away from him to curb the temptation, and simply said, "The skeleton who knocked you out?"

        Sans gulped audibly, but spoke. "T-that was my brother, Papyrus. He, uh...he runs Snowdin, and is a member of the Royal Guard."� I stared at him, waiting for more, but he quickly shifted focus. "What, you're not shocked? Most people can't believe Boss would hurt his big brother."

        Fighting back the urge to laugh at him being the'big' brother, I answered blankly. "My family isn't that civil either." He raised a pseudo-brow, but I shook my head, looking over to Carlos. "I can't believe he killed the cat though..."

        Sans' eyebrow raised higher, and he turned to follow my gaze. He barked out a short laugh, before walking toward the limp cat on the floor, picking him up by the scruff of his neck. Examining the cat closely, Sans asked "You like this thing?"� I gulped, looking away from him and wrapping my arms around myself, nodding weakly. I felt tears form in my eyes, but was startled when I felt soft fur brush against my arm before nuzzling against my chest. I quickly looked down, and saw a familiar whitish-brown ball of fluff rubbing himself against me. "Boss didn't throw the fucker hard enough to kill him, just knock him out."

        I quickly looked up at Sans, but he paid me no attention, stooping down to grab my pile of old Mean Cream sticks, each with insults written on them. He always did it before leaving, shoving the garbage into his pockets, before approaching the door. I stay, frozen to the spot, absently stroking Carlos, trying to comprehend the events that had just happened, as he dug through his pocket for the key ring. Quickly shoving the right key in the lock, he threw the door open, stepping out into the cold. But instead of locking the door behind him, he turned back to glare at me, an annoyed expression on his bony features. "You coming?"

        This stunned me, and my mouth opened slightly. After wracking my brain for things to say, I finally settled on, "Huh?"

        He rolled his eyes, and motioned for me to follow him. "Boss said you can't stay here, right?" With that, I felt a strange force surround me before I was flying through the air, pulled by some unseen power. He grabbed my upper arm, the force suddenly gone as he pulled me out of the shack. I squinted against the bright light that hit us as soon as we walked outside, not used to seeing the full onslaught of weird underground light. Slamming the door behind us, he pulled me to the right, towards the large, relatively normal house I'd seen when he first brought me to the shack. I knit my eyebrows, but followed obediently. When we reached the door, he pulled it open roughly, and dragged me inside, not bothering to close the door.

        I didn't really get a chance to see the inside, as he quickly yanked me up the stairs. A red couch, a large flat screen TV, a table covered in scratch marks. In one wall was a large kitchen, and he pulled me up a flight of stairs to a small landing.

        The first door was covered in signs and messages, many of which said simply "STAY OUT", as well as some police tape, eliciting the question of if the Underground _had_ a police force, many scratch marks, and strange scorch marks at the bottom. Then was a blank door, but Sans pulled me past it and to a room that seemed to emit black smoke from underneath. My eyes widened, but Sans didn't seem concerned as he unlocked the door and shoved me inside. It was completely dark.

        Sans walked around me, slamming the door behind us, and I didn't dare try and run. After a moment, there was a soft _click_ , and with a flicker, the room was filled with a low, gold light.

        I was in a bedroom of some sort, a queen-sized bed pushed in the corner, the sheets strewn about. The walls were gray and blank, and the floor seemed to be a pale beige carpet. Against one wall was a black curtain covering what I could only assume to be a window. In the leftmost wall was a walk-in closet that spanned the length of the wall, several blankets and clothes shoved haphazardly in the hollow. Against the closet and window walls was a large, light brown dresser with an old computer sat on top, the tower on its side holding the monitor, and a lamp standing next to it. The most interesting part of the room, though, was a bunch of papers in the corner opposite the bed that whipped around in a weird tornado. Like most things in the Underground, though, I chose not to question it at the expense of my sanity.

        Sans grabbed a red and black shag blanket and a naked pillow, dropping it in an otherwise empty corner of the closet. Turning towards me, he pointed at it over his shoulder. "You can sleep there. I have work to do. If I find you snooping around me stuff, I will _gut_ you." He pulled a Mean Cream from his pocket and threw it at me. I quickly grabbed it, startling Carlos, but when I lowered my hand, he was gone.

        I looked around the room, and then down at Carlos. He had gone back to his contented nature, nuzzling himself against me happily. I blinked, staring blankly at the closed door. What...the fuck... **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter than my other chapters, I know, but it's merely a segue chapter. Sorry.
> 
> Updated as I write. That can take hours or days.


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